Animals are sentient beings, capable of experiencing emotions. Being able to assess emotional states in farm animals is crucial to improving their welfare. Although the function of emotion is not primarily for communication, the outward expression of an emotional state involves changes in posture, vocalisations, odours and facial expressions. These changes can be perceived and used as indicators of emotional state by other animals. Since emotions can be perceived between conspecifics, understanding how emotions are identified and how they can spread within a social group could have a major impact on improving the welfare of farmed species, which are mostly reared in groups. A recently developed method for the evaluation of emotions in animals is based on cognitive biases such as judgment biases, i.e. an individual in a negative emotional state will show pessimistic judgments while and individual in a positive emotional state will show optimistic judgments. The aims of this project were to (A) establish whether sheep and goats can discriminate between images of faces of familiar conspecifics taken in different positive and negative situations, (B) establish whether sheep and goats perceive the valence (positive of negative) of the emotion expressed by the animal on the image, (C) validate the use of images of faces in cognitive bias studies. The use of images of faces of conspecifics as emotional stimuli was first validated, using a discrimination task in a two-armed maze. A new methodology was then developed across a series of experiments to assess spontaneous reactions of animals exposed to video clips or to images of faces of familiar conspecifics. Detailed observations of ear postures were used as the main behavioural indicator. Individual characteristics (dominance status within the herd, dominance pairwise relationships and humananimal relationship) were also recorded during preliminary tests and included in the analyses. The impact of a low-mood state on the perception of emotions was assessed in sheep after subjecting half of the animals to unpredictable negative housing conditions and keeping the other half in good standard housing conditions. Sheep were then presented with videos of conspecifics filmed in situations of varying valence. Reactions to ambiguous stimuli were evaluated by presenting goats with images of morphed faces. Goats were also presented with images of faces of familiar conspecifics taken situations of varying emotional intensity. Sheep could discriminate images of faces of conspecifics taken either in a negative or in a neutral situation and their learning process of the discrimination task was affected by the type of emotion displayed. Sheep reacted differently depending on the valence of the video clips (P < 0.05); however, there was no difference between the control and the low-mood groups (P > 0.05). Goats also showed different behavioural reactions to images of faces photographed in different situations (P < 0.05), indicating that they perceived the images as different. Responses to morphed images were not necessarily intermediate to responses to negative and positive images and not gradual either, which poses a major problem to the potential use of facial images in cognitive bias experiments. Overall, animals were more attentive towards images or videos of conspecifics in negative situations, i.e., presumably, in a negative emotional state. This suggests that sheep and goats are able to perceive the valence of the emotional state. The identity of the individual on the photo also affected the animals’ spontaneous reaction to the images. Social relationships such as dominance, but also affinity between the tested and photographed individual seem to influence emotion perception.

abstract: An offender's expression of remorse plays an important role following relational transgressions, yet it is not well understood how the experience and expression of remorse relate to both victim responses to hurt and forgiveness in close relationships. This study uses a social functionalist framework to investigate the role of remorse in the forgiveness process and tests whether offender remorse experiences mediate the associations between victim responses to hurt and remorse expressions. Undergraduate participants (N=671) completed questionnaires about a time when they hurt a close relational partner and reported their partners' responses to hurt, their own experiences and expressions of remorse, and their perceptions of forgiveness. Results indicated that victims' sad communication positively predicted offenders' other-oriented and affiliation remorse experiences; victims' threatening communication positively predicted offenders' self-focused remorse experience; and victims' conciliatory communication and withdrawal positively predicted offenders' affiliation and self-focused remorse experiences. Results of the mediation analyses revealed that self-focused remorse fully mediated the relationship between victim threatening communication and low status behaviors; other-oriented remorse partially mediated the association between victim sad communication and apology/concern behaviors; and affiliation partially mediated the relationship between victim conciliatory communication and connection behaviors. Victims' withdrawal behaviors and offenders' use of compensation were not related. Finally, offenders' apology/concern and connection behaviors associated positively with perceptions of forgiveness, whereas low status behaviors negatively predicted forgiveness. Use of compensation following a hurtful event was not significantly related to forgiveness. Results are interpreted within the framework of evolutionary psychology and further validate the functional approach to studying emotion. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Communication 2011

Recent epidemiological data from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) estimate significant lifetime prevalence rates for anxiety and mood disorders, suggesting nearly one in three people would meet diagnostic criteria for an anxiety and/or mood disorder at some point during their lifetime (NCS, 2007). Comorbidity research has also revealed that people often suffer from these disorders concurrently (Rodriguez et al., 2004). Many have argued that anxiety and mood disorders frequently co-occur because they share similar etiological factors (Barlow, 1991; Clark & Watson, 1991; Watson, 2005). Additional empirical research has suggested that depressive and anxiety disorders share similar genetic diatheses and merely present differently because of variation in environmental stressors (Hettema, Neale, & Kendler, 2001; Rutter Moffit, & Caspi, 2006). As a result, an investigation of shared emotion regulation and affective processes across anxiety and mood disorders may reveal parallel etiological factors and areas for intervention. Research examining emotion and affective dysregulation indicates that mood and anxiety pathology may be characterized by similar emotional control and understanding deficits (Amstadter, 2008; Bradley, 2000; Sandin et al., 1996). Models of emotion dysregulation suggest that individuals suffering from anxiety pathology report decreased understanding of emotions, higher reactivity and sensitivity to emotions, and poor emotional management and mood repair skills (Mennin et al., 2005). Similarly, studies have observed parallel difficulties in those with depression (Liverant, Brown, Barlow, & Roemer, 2008; Rude and McCarthy, 2003). Additionally, research has indicated that efforts to reappraise or suppress emotions may affect the intensity and valence of emotional experiences (Gross & John, 2004). The current study builds off this research by incorporating elements of previous models of emotion dysregulation and anxiety and mood pathology in an effort to develop a comprehensive model of affective process that may underlie both anxious and depressive symptomatology. A total of 526 undergraduate students participated in the present investigation by completing a series of self-report instruments measuring affect and psychopathology. Response patterns were analyzed using AMOS 4.0 in order to examine the structural relationships between negative affectivity, positive affectivity, emotion reappraisal, emotion suppression, negative emotional reactivity, and poor understanding of emotions. Initial tests of a single model of emotion dysregulation suggested that the development of two separate models best represented subject responses. As a result, distinct models for suppression and reappraisal were tested concurrently. Tests of model invariance revealed similar structural qualities across gender, ethnicity, and levels of general distress for both models. Following modification, final fit indices suggested good fit for the reappraisal model (CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .057); however, the suppression model did not appear similarly representative of subject response behavior (CFI = .89, TLI = .85, RMSEA = .073). Findings of the current study suggest that the use of emotional reappraisal may be associated with increased positive affective and decreased negative affective states. Further, attempts to reappraise emotional experiences may influence the relationships poor understanding of emotions and fear of strong affect demonstrated with negative and positive affect. Data support previously articulated psychotherapy treatment strategies (Beck, 1979; Barlow & Cerny, 1988; Linehan, 1993; Hayes, 2004), but also indicate that current cognitive behavioral therapies may benefit from heightened attention to emotions and the incorporation of affective regulation skill building strategies. Future research directions, study strengths and limitations, and additional implications of present results are included.

Diagnosis of psychological disorders is clearly gendered. To help explain these gender differences, previous research investigating actual and perceived gender differences in emotion will be detailed. Within a non-clinical setting, perceived gender differences in emotion appear larger and more consistent than actual gender differences in emotion. Gender stereotypes about emotions offer an explanation of this finding. The implications of these findings in a clinical setting are explored, specifically the impact of gender stereotypes about emotion on diagnosis and intervention.

Micro blogging sites such as Twitter have fundamentally changed the way that individuals communicate and spread information, with greater speed and greater representation of how affected individuals feel about given situations. By seeking information that is available on Twitter, individuals are constructing their opinions based on a large source of data from their peers. Laypeople are now influential amplification agents during unfolding crises. Factors that amplify or attenuate perceptions of risk may have far-reaching implications for risk communication research within emerging new social media contexts. In order to explore these factors, we experimentally manipulated content about risk information, specific emotion, and emotional imagery via hypothetical Twitter community event pages and measured risk perceptions, behavioral intentions, and subjective emotions that may accompany the amplification or attenuation of risk through social media. Across three experimental studies, emotion increased the seeking and sharing of information and behavior associated with risk prevention and regulation during crisis communication via experimental Twitter feeds. Gender was a substantial factor that impacted subjective emotion, risk, and behavior. Females demonstrated higher scores than males on the majority of these dependent measures when anger and sadness were induced (Studies 1 and 2) and when only anger was manipulated (Study 3). This attests to the significant impact that gender has for processing emotion in crisis communication. Emotion and risk influenced each other recursively for information seeking and sharing behavior, and emotion content increased subjective emotion compared to information content. Spokesperson strategies effectively reduced negative emotion, information seeking and sharing, information generation, and regulatory action related to the risk event. The present research suggests that evidence-based strategies may be applicable in the domain of social media crisis management. It is imperative that we further investigate the interplay of emotion and information as underlying mechanisms in relation to how information diffusion operates in new social media, as we do not know how perceptions of risk may be generated or altered in this relatively unexplored domain. / 10000-01-01

“Non-affective” psychotic disorders are in fact associated with a high rate of emotional disorders. A number of attachment-based models of impairments in emotion regulation and mentalization in psychosis have been put forward. The present thesis aimed to explore psychobiological markers of emotion regulation in order to develop and pilot a novel psychological intervention. The portfolio consists of six peer-reviewed published articles. Four studies were conducted involving 167 psychosis patients and 66 community controls resulting in four original articles, a theory paper and a metaanalysis. Paper 1- 3 explored emotion regulation using different methods (self-report, hormonal, attachment-based narrative). Paper 4 lays out a compassion-focused model for promoting emotional recovery from psychosis. Paper 5 presents data from a feasibility trial of Group Compassion Focused Therapy. Paper 6 presents an updated attachment- and compassion-focused model of emotion regulation and mentalization in the context of a meta-analysis of effects of intranasal oxytocin on symptoms and social cognition in psychosis. Childhood trauma – especially emotional abuse - was strongly associated with dissociation in psychosis patients compared to non-psychotic community controls – most strongly in chronic patients (Paper 1). Psychosis patients with childhood trauma showed significantly lower basal cortisol levels indicative of impaired stress regulation than those without childhood trauma (Paper 2). Impaired emotion regulation operationalised as attachment-based mentalisation was associated with problematic adolescent development and emotional and interpersonal adaptation to a first episode of psychosis in qualitative interviews. A novel attachment-based model for improving emotion regulation in psychosis by way of strengthening the caregiving/ receiving and affiliation system through Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) was put forward (Paper 4). A feasibility trial showed that group CFT was safe, well-accepted and associated with greater clinical improvement and greater increases in compassion compared to treatment as usual. Increases in compassion in CFT were associated with reductions in shame, perceived social marginalisation, fear or relapse and depression (Paper 5). A metaanalysis of oxytocin administration as a biological way of strengthening the care-giving/receiving and affiliation system in psychosis was conducted yielding medium effects despite significant heterogeneity (Paper 6). Findings replicated the strong association between childhood trauma and dissociation in psychosis patients relative to controls highlighting the importance of emotional abuse and suggesting underlying difficulties with regulating distress related to early interpersonal trauma. Lower basal cortisol in patients with childhood trauma appeared to support the presence of emotion regulation difficulties due to early interpersonal trauma on a physiological level. Qualitative findings helped to generate hypotheses about inhibitors and facilitators of recovery and targets for intervention including the moderating role of mentalization. A novel attachment- and compassion-focused model was outlined and successfully piloted yielding important signals of change such as increases in compassion, which appear to reduce depression and social marginalisation in particular. This model helped account for inconsistencies in oxytocin studies of psychosis. In summary, findings extend existing research on emotion regulation in psychosis by supporting links to early interpersonal trauma and attachment and offer a promising novel attachment-and compassion-focused psychological intervention and a comprehensive biopsychosocial framework for further improving emotion regulation and mentalization in people with psychosis.

Purpose: The systematic review aimed to review and evaluate constructs and measures of emotion regulation (ER) in the psychosis spectrum population literature. The empirical study aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a trans-diagnostic emotion regulation (ER) group developed for an acute inpatient setting. Methods: The literature was systematically searched for research related to the measurement of emotion regulation (ER) in a psychosis spectrum population. A mixed method design was employed to assess acceptability and feasibility of a six session ER skills group delivered in an acute mental health inpatient setting. The group intervention was developed and piloted over a 5 month period. The mixed method design included a multiple single case series design and qualitative exit interviews, conducted with eight participants. Results: 24 papers met criteria for inclusion in the systematic review. 15 different self-report tools were identified as measures of ER strategies in this review. Descriptive data from the empirical study indicated high attendance and low attrition rates. Group level analysis identified large effect sizes for change in ER skills. Case series data indicated that sustained change, on at least one measured variable, occurred for four participants. Qualitative themes triangulate findings related to acceptability of the group, change in ER strategies and increased emotional acceptance. Conclusions: ER conceptualisation is variable in the literature reviewed, where the understanding of how ER and psychosis are linked is limited. The emphasis on the literature reviewed is on cognitive strategies of ER. The pilot study indicates that the intervention is feasible and acceptable, with preliminary evidence identifying potential clinical benefits. The challenges in evaluating interventions in an acute inpatient environment are discussed.

Personality disorders (PD) are among the most complex aspects of human behaviour to understand and manage. Stability is thought to be one of the major distinguishing features between PD’s and other forms of psychopathology, however, recent studies have challenged this notion. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is the focus of this review and is characterised by interpersonal and emotion regulation difficulties. This thesis aimed to first examine the naturalistic course of BPD, through systematic review of the current literature. Following screening, 12 studies, that met all inclusion/exclusion criteria, were critically evaluated. The results, from studies rated as methodologically sound, suggested that the categorical diagnosis of BPD has poor stability over time, with only 3%-35% of participants retaining a diagnosis of BPD over time. However, the studies reviewed were limited by the population they examined: mainly working age adults with mental health problems. Therefore, studies need to be continued and replicated to increase our understanding of the lifespan course of BPD. PD’s within older adults with mental health problems is a highly debated topic. Clinicians have highlighted the presence of PD symptoms within this group and the need for appropriate therapies. Schema therapy is one intervention that has shown to be effective in the treatment of PD symptoms within a working adult population. A recent Delphi-study led to the consensus that existing therapies for PD, such as schema therapy, that have shown to be effective in working aged adults are applicable to older adults. Therefore, the empirical project focused on exploring the theoretical underpinnings of schema therapy in older adults with mental health problems. 3 self-report questionnaires were administered to 62 participants (aged 65- 85 years); Young’s Schema Questionnaire – Short Form (YSQ-S3), Coolidge Axis-II Inventory (Short) (SCATI-II) and The Regulation of Emotions Questionnaire (REQ- 2). Analysis highlighted that YSQ-S3 and REQ-2 scores significantly predicted 69% of the variance in SCATI-II scores. To the author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to find support for the relationships between early maladaptive schemas (EMS), PD symptoms and the use of dysfunctional emotion regulation (ER) strategies, consistent with the schema therapy model, in older adults with mental health problems.

The study is informed by work from the 1990s which looked at emotional aspects of couple relationships and how this interacts with gendered power (Duncombe and Marsden, 1993, 1995; Benjamin, 1998). The context of couple relationships provides the backdrop to explore experiences of men and women navigating their emotional lives through a period of social change in which men are becoming more emotionally open. I examine to what extent emotional participation is moving towards being more equal, and whether this has an impact on gender relations within couple relationships, including consideration of how love can exist within unequal divisions of labour. The central analytical concepts of gender, power and emotion will be explored in order to look at whether there has been a change in practices of emotional participation in couple relationships. This thesis is a mixed-methods study exploring understandings of emotional participation within couple relationships. It is based on an online survey of 1,080 people, telephone interviews with 44 survey participants and 31 face-to-face interviews with participants living in Scotland. I explore the issues of communication, emotional skill and emotional capital through the narratives of men and women who are single and in relationships, predominantly heterosexual but not exclusively. This research design was used to test findings from previous research to enable an understanding of how gender shapes cultural constructions of emotional habitus within intimate relationships. I extend Burkitt’s concept of ‘emotional habitus’ (2014) to argue that ‘gendered emotional habitus’ (plural) are pervasive and enable the reproduction of heterosexuality within couple relationships. These habitus provide little room to negotiate alternative ways of doing gender, yet there are signs of a ‘clash of ideals of masculine emotion’ due to an increase in the value of emotional skills and the commonsensical discourse that it’s ‘good to talk’, found in the therapeutic discourse (Brownlie, 2014). I argue these signs of social change have led to a shift away from relationships in which women crave emotional fulfilment but do not receive it, to relationships in which men too want emotional closeness with their partner. The change in gendered ways of valuing emotion have impacted on how men and women perceive and manage their couple relationships, which is explored in depth through the concept of emotional participation.

L’affectivité, les émotions, les sentiments sont des thématiques encore relativement peu explorées dans le champ des sciences de l’espace, et pourtant de plus en plus nombreux sont les auteurs qui soulignent l’intérêt, et même la nécessité, de surmonter la difficulté de leur intégration. Souscrivant pleinement à cet objectif, le présent travail de thèse pose comme hypothèse centrale et fondatrice que la dimension affective de la relation de l’homme à son environnement, son rapport affectif à l’espace, depuis les mécanismes qui président à sa construction jusqu’aux conséquences pratiques et spatiales de ce lien qui unit l’homme à son environnement, constituent une connaissance utile à la science de l’aménagement des espaces. À travers ce travail nous avons donc cherché à mettre en lumière les mécanismes de type affectif, en lien avec les valeurs, les préférences, les attitudes, qui sont en mesures d’intervenir à la fois sur les représentations, les décisions et in fine sur les actions qui participent aussi bien des logiques géographiques au fondement de l’agencement de l’espace des sociétés, que des logiques projectives propres aux pratiques de transformation intentionnelle des espaces habités. La démarche empirique ainsi menée a permis de montrer que la relation affective à l’espace était une dimension conséquente de l’organisation des espaces et qu’elle participait plus largement de l’agencement des spatialités individuelles et collectives. À partir d’une méthodologie spécifique, appliquée à deux terrains de l’agglomération de Tours, et la collecte de récits auprès d’habitants et de professionnels en charge de l’urbanisme, nos analyses nous ont conduit à proposer une modélisation conceptuelle du rapport affectif à l’espace, insistant plus particulièrement sur les dynamiques temporelle et relationnelle du phénomène. Enfin, en soulignant l’influence de ces dynamiques affectives sur la structuration de l’action collective, nous avons pu dégager les fondements de leur prise en compte, et ainsi suggérer des pistes pour l’intégration opérationnelle de la donnée affective dans la conduite du projet d’aménagement. / Affectivity, emotions, feelings are subjects that remain quite unexplored in the field of sciences that focuses on the spatial dimension of societies, but yet more and more authors emphasize the importance, and the need to overcome the difficulty to take them into account. Endorsing this goal, the thesis went through the hypothesis that affective bonds between a man and his environment, since the mechanisms that govern this bond, to his practical consequences, provide useful knowledge for planning theory and practice. This work try to highlight affective mechanisms, related to values, preferences, attitudes, and their influences on representations, decisions and ultimately on actions involved both in geographical systems, and in projective practices. The empirical approach has shown that affective bond to place was also subsequent to place settlement, and widely, that affective bond was involved in individual and collective way to configure space arrangement. Based on a specific methodological approach, implemented on two study areas in Tours agglomeration, and on narratives collected with inhabitants and planners, our analysis led us to propose a conceptual modeling of affective bond to place, with particular emphasis on temporal and relational dynamics. Finally, underlying influence of affective dynamics on structuring collective action, we find out the bases for taking them into account, and thereby suggest several tracks for operational planning issues, and for including affective data into planning process.